Petroleum production increases by 13.24%

The production of petroleum products witnessed a 13.24 percent increase during the fiscal year 2017-18 as compared to the last fiscal year, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported.

The petroleum products that contributed in this positive growth included motor spirits, the output of which grew by 18.68 percent during the period under review while the production of high-speed diesel increased by 14.93 percent, according to latest data of PBS.

The production of diesel oil surged by 33.36 percent during the period under review while the output of Furnace oil witnessed a growth of 8.17 percent.

Similarly, the production of Jute batching oil increased by 9.04 percent, Solvent Naptha by 5.71 percent while the production of LPG increased by 44.64 percent.

The petroleum products that witnessed negative growth in production included jet fuel, the output of which witnessed a decline of 0.59 percent while the production of kerosene oil decreased by 12.10 percent and lubricating oil by 7.66 percent.

Meanwhile, on a year-on-year basis, the production of petroleum products increased by 10.18 percent during the month of June 2018 against the production of the same month of last year.

It is pertinent to mention here that the overall Large Scale Manufacturing Industries (LSMI) of the country witnessed a growth of 5.38 percent during the year 2017-18 compared to last year.

The country’s LSMI Quantum Index Numbers (QIM) was recorded at 147.07 points during July-June (2017-18) against 139.55 points during July-June (2016-17), showing growth of over 5.38 percent.

The highest growth of 13.24 percent was witnessed in the indices monitored by Oil Companies Advisory Committee (OCAC) followed by 5.04 percent growth in the products monitored by Ministry of Industries and 1.17 percent growth in Provincial Bureaus of Statistics (PBOS).

On yearly basis, the industrial growth increased by 0.51 percent during June 2018 as compared to same month of last year, however, on monthly basis, the industrial growth decreased by 8.3 percent in June 2018 when compared to growth of May 2018, the PBS data revealed.

(APP)